This Kitten Has Claws
by MidnightMoon-Luna16
Summary: After returning from a particularly tiring battle, Clint and Steve return to the Tower to find a teenage girl arguing with the secretary. They don't know who she is but she knows Tony… and she needs help. The secrets that this girl is hiding affect them all but there's a problem, this girl is broken. Can the Avengers become more than a team and fix this girl?
1. Chapter 1

This Kitten Has Claws

AU. Set a few months after The Avengers... Iron Man 3 hasn't occurred yet. My time frame is the battle occurred around June/July and its now mid-October. For my story Tony is about 34 yrs old and the Avengers ages kind of revolve around that.

Disclaimer- I do not own the Avengers or The Night World or anything else that you may recognize. I do however own Adelaide Bennett and the plot.

Chapter 1

Adelaide was nervous and the constant looks from the people around her did nothing but encourage those feelings. It wasn't the actual looks that bothered her- she'd been receiving them all her life- it was the new feeling of paranoia that washed over her with every look.

Adelaide was very aware that she attracted attention; it could have been the fact she was 17yrs old and not in school or that she looked unnaturally attractive but she knew the real reason.

At a glance people saw a teenager with dark brown curly hair that looked black; chocolate coloured eyes and mocha tanned skin strolling down the street; but some people could sense something- _see _something else when they looked at her, they could see a sort of… prowling grace when she walked. They would see the bright green that flecked through the chocolate brown of her eyes- something unnatural to humans.

Adelaide knew she didn't look quite human and that's because she wasn't human. She was a mutant- a shape shifter- to be exact.

When Adelaide wasn't walking around looking like a teenager, she was hidden in the shadows looking like a panther. It was the reason some people stayed away from her, their instincts knew she was dangerous and warned them away.

Not everyone could sense it enough to make them stay away. She knew everyone felt something but most humans were so out of sync with their instincts they brushed it off as nothing.

She'd learnt that from _him. _

He was the reason that the looks she'd received all her life made her feel paranoid; the reason why she couldn't separate the fake memories from her real ones; the reason why shifting sometimes left her feeling dirty. It was all because of_ him._

Thinking about him triggered her tortured memories the ones were she wasn't sure what was real anymore. She would never forget him or what he did to her. The torture, the tests and experiments, the inhumanity of what they subjected her to nearly every day for the past 3 years.

What happened broke her. She knew that, she admitted it. But Adelaide knew that if something was broken it could be fixed, not always but there was a chance she could fix herself.

She could never erase the scars that covered her arms or the nightmares that haunted her dreams. Or reverse what they did to her but she could become stronger, try and overcome what happened and when she was ready she would destroy them all.

Pushing her dark thoughts to the back of her mind, Adelaide checked the building in front of her. There was a giant A at the top instead of Stark but the address was right. This was it, the first step to fixing herself- safety.

Adelaide took a deep breath before entering the building and making her way towards the secretary. If this didn't work she had nothing else to work from.

Even though Adelaide didn't believe in God she sent him a small prayer- she prayed that the memory of her Mom telling her that Anthony Stark was her Father was real and that she hadn't been lying.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Clint and Steve had been called out on a mission, nothing serious but it needed S.H.E.I.L.D's best marksman and Captain America.

Walking into the Tower Steve stopped suddenly, focusing on the thing that had caught his attention. "Clint…" but the archer didn't seem to hear him, he tried again louder this time "Clint!" this time he turned to him.

"What Steve? I'm hungry." The archer pouted.

"Why is there a teenage girl arguing with Tony's secretary?"

When Clint turned he saw that there was indeed a teenage girl arguing with the secretary. The girl looked normal enough, from the back anyway; about 5 ft. 6" short, curly hair, black in colour; wearing a black jumpsuit- that reminded Clint of Natasha's Kevlar.

"Ermm... Maybe she knows Tony?" Clint shrugged, though he was looking at the girl curiously.

"How would a _teenage _girl know Tony, Clint?" Once again Clint shrugged.

At this point the argument at the front desk had escalated quickly; neither woman had noticed two of the Avengers casually regarding the situation from about 10 ft. away and continued arguing.

"I'm sorry but like I said before Mr. Stark isn't going to suddenly be available because it's important you speak to him, so you'll have to book an appointment and come back later", the secretary turned back to get work, content in ignoring the teen.

"Escuche usted mujer estúpida, I can't come back later" the girl replied, "You don't understand I have to see him today. So phone him or something because until I see him I'm not going anywhere! ¿Entiende usted?"

The secretary turned back looking flustered and annoyed, "Look young lady, Mr. Stark isn't available and I would appreciate it if you didn't speak to me in languages I don't know," she snapped at the girl.

"I called you a stupid women, there you happy? Now I would appreciate it if you would just let me see him- It's important!"

The secretary's face began to turn an embarrassing shade of red while she tried to sputter a response.

That had been enough for Clint who burst into laughter at the scene; the sudden laughter attracted the attention of the two women. The secretary visibly relaxed then muttered something to the girl; the girl pointed at them and the secretary nodded.

The girl began walking towards them looking wary but determined.

The girl was pretty, Clint decided. Her hair which he thought to be black was actually a really dark brown; her skin was a light mocha colour and her eyes were chocolate brown with flecks of a bright green. She looked about 18yrs old; she was lean and toned but curvy.

There was something else about her, a feeling he knew but couldn't quite remember. It could have been her weird eye colour or the jumpsuit (that he could now see was some kind of fur) but he knew it wasn't. Clint wasn't called Hawkeye for nothing- He dint know what it was but she was different.

"Excuse me; the secretary said you could help me?"

Steve stepped forward and held out his hand (his 1940's manners just couldn't be changed), "We'll try our best ma'am. I'm Steve Rogers..."

The girl flinched back from Steve's hand- which he lowered after that reaction -and answered the unspoken question.

"I'm Adelaide." She gave no last name which had Clint raising an eyebrow.

"I'm Clint Barton. No last name?"

Adelaide raised an eyebrow of her own before answering, "Its Bennett. Adelaide Bennett. So can you guys help me?"

"We can help but first we need to know why you need to see Tony so badly," inquired Steve.

Adelaide face adopted a frown, "I don't see how this is helping or why that's any of your business."

Clint butted in, "Look darling, it's our business because Tony's our team mate and you could be some weirdo that wants to hurt him or some shit like that. Plus we live here so we can take you to him."

Her frown deepened and she sighed, "I don't want to hurt him, I just need to talk to him. _Please. _I wouldn't be here unless it was important."

Clint and Steve shared a look; on one hand the girl did look relatively harmless apart from the jumpsuit but you could buy them anywhere. On the other hand Natasha was likely to castrate them for bringing an unknown civilian into their living area.

Adelaide couldn't stand the silence. She had to see Tony, she could see why they were worried but this was unnecessary.

"Please. It really is something he should know. I can't tell you guys because it wouldn't be fair to him, but what if you were there when I told him. That way you know he's safe and I get to talk to him." She knew it was begging and she'd sworn to herself she would never beg for anything but if Tony was her Dad her panther instincts would recognize him. It would dampen the feelings of anxiety and she would feel safe just like she had with her Mother.

Clint and Steve shared another look before nodding. Steve spoke first, "Okay but our whole team will have to be there, we'll try not to interrupt your conversation."

"Thank you so much," the gratitude in her voice was real and she knew she looked way to happy but Steve just smiled back; Clint gave her a suspicious look and it made Adelaide wonder how connected he was to his instincts.

No one spoke whilst they entered the elevator.

**Authors Note: I am sorry for not updating but I've been really busy lately and I've realised I probably won't be able to continue both stories. There is a poll on my profile so you guys can decide which one you want me to continue with, I will eventually finish both but I can only focus on one at the moment. **


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